Gary considered. 'You may have a point about traditional symbols failing us. There was a cross on the cover of Jessie's Bible and Bill didn't bat an eye.'

'Oh, that was a great pun. Thank you. Thank you very much. That's just what I needed.'

'Shut up,' Gary said. 'There may be a weapon vampires and Martians can't withstand. One that doesn't have anything to do with belief or disbelief.'

'What?' Lauren asked.

'Fire.'

I see you brought the fire.

There was a ring of truth to what Gary was saying. In fact it rang perfectly well with the voices in her head. She didn't know whether that was good or bad, yet his remark made her heart race.

'I'm all in favor of getting the other laser,' she said. 'If we get the chance. But you know we can't use it against Bill inside the ship.

Gary nodded. 'That's two problems right there. But I have a plan. Bill said he wanted to take Jessie with him tomorrow.'

'He might take us all,' Lauren interrupted.

'I think he can only handle one at a time. Don't ask me why. He seems to have lost his inhibitions about his wife.'

'With his super strength, he could kill us all.'

'So you do believe he's strong?'

'I just don't want to get in a fight with him.'

'He doesn't want to kill us,' Gary said.

'Oh, yeah? He needs to fill out his vampire family. Why doesn't he destroy the other laser? Surely he suspects we didn't lose it.'

'He knows if he leaves the ship, I'll take off. He's clever. He doesn't go outside without taking insurance with him. But this time he's not going to cash in.'

'What are you going to do?' Lauren asked.

'This planet murdered my best friend. It's going to pay. It's going to burn. Fire's got to kill these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, and their heart has to be down in that pit where Bill wants everyone to go. We have a nuclear bomb in the bas.e.m.e.nt. I'm going to drag it down there and set it off and flush the devils out.'

'You'd be killed.'

'No. When Jim gave us the code, he said the warhead could be triggered manually, and that it had a timer in it.'

'Bill will stop you,' Lauren said.

'He isn't going to be here.'

'You can't set it while he's gone with Jessie.'

'I don't intend to. I'm going to take the bomb down there after he returns with Jessie. We'll retrieve the laser from the Karamazov, and then I'll wait outside the Hawk and greet both of them with the hole in the chest.'

'You'd kill her?' Lauren gasped.

'She'll already be dead.'

'I won't let you do that.'

'Then he'll take us one by one! Don't you see, he hits us where we're weakest. Jim knew the danger, but he hesitated because he couldn't conceive of killing a friend. But if we don't kill them then one of us will be taken down there, and then the other. We'll both be turned into Ivan clones. We'll return home and look just fine to everybody else. Except at night we'll go out and suck on people's throats until the whole G.o.dd.a.m.n world is one walking corpse.'

'Stop it!' Lauren cried 'No! Think of the consequences. You don't need to kill them. I'll do it.'

Lauren looked away. "There must be another way.'

'There isn't.'

'We should get Jessie off drugs, tell her what's going on.'

Gary snickered. 'Right. We'll tell her we have to blow away her husband. Maybe we can get her to hold him still for the shot. Give me a break.'

Lauren had an idea. 'The boat.'

'Huh?'

'The boat we made out of the jeep. Hummingbird isn't the only way to the island. You remember? Jim insisted we tow it back and anchor it on the ca.n.a.l beneath the end of the cave. There's another way, Gary. We'll let them go tomorrow, and then we'll retrieve the laser and follow them.'

'We'd be hours behind,' Gary said. 'We'd be too late. Jessie won't be able to hold out.'

'Jim did.'

'Jim's dead.'

'We have to try,' Lauren said. 'We have to give her that chance.'

'No. By the time we reached the island, there'd be two monsters. They'd creep up on us in the dark. We wouldn't come back human.'

Lauren got up and stepped to Jessica's bed. She fixed the blankets about Jessica's shoulders. Jessica slept on.

'Is her one life less precious than ten lives?' Lauren asked, looking down at her friend's face. 'Than a hundred? What would Jim have said?' Lauren stroked Jessica's hand. 'We've lost Jim, we've lost Bill. And now we're sending her down there ignorant. We've got to give her a chance.'

'I don't like it.'

Lauren came back and sat on the bed beside him. She spoke firmly. 'We'll take the boat. We'll do the best we can. At least we will have tried.'

Gary sighed. 'OK, Doc. But I'm going alone. I have enough on my conscience already, the way I let Jim die.'

'We're going together.'

'No way. It's me alone. That's an order.'

'I don't give a s.h.i.t about your orders. I have to go.' She glanced at the ceiling, in the direction of the heavy footsteps. 'If you come back like him, I'd just as soon die. Besides, it will take two to paddle the boat.'

Gary put a strong arm around her. 'I can never win an argument with you.' He added, 'I hope the warhead doesn't sink the boat.'

'Don't take it. It will just slow us down. The next expedition can incinerate the place.'

'If I have my way, there won't be a next expedition. This planet's going to pay now. It's going to burn.'

Lauren felt tears in her eyes. 'G.o.d,' she whispered.

'Lori?'

'I was just thinking how we'll be leaving Jim here.' The grief broke inside her at last and she began to sob against his chest. 'Remember the time I discovered his cookies, Gary? I think he was eating them while we were fasting at the isolation complex. He liked sweets. He liked coffee, too, and I wouldn't even make it for him.'

Gary spoke softly. 'But you did make it for him. It was wonderful coffee. He loved it. He loved you.'

She wiped at her face. 'I'm going to miss him so much.' She put her arms around him. 'Hold me, Gary. Please hold me.'

They stayed in each other's arms as the night slowly pa.s.sed. But Lauren didn't sleep. She didn't have to. Her nightmare was finally awake. She lay beside Gary with her scalpel in her hand until the sun came up, listening to the footsteps overhead.

At the charred remains of Jennifer's private cabin, Terry Hayes knelt and collected wood for his fireplace. It was dark and snowing, and he was cold. He thought it would not be long before the snow covered the ashes left over from the fire, as it had probably already covered Jennifer's freshly dug grave. From identifying her remains, he knew ashes of her body must lie scattered in the wood ashes all around him. He had changed his mind about flowers. He decided that later he would bring some here and plant them. In another season, when it was warm, he thought they might bloom.

Terry bundled his wood together and walked to his cabin. It was pitch black inside but he made no effort to find the light switch. He went immediately to the fireplace and arranged the singed sc.r.a.ps he had gathered. There was a lighter on top of the bricks, and soon the chill was melting from his limbs before a cracking fire. It was then he saw Jennifer's new typewriter on the floor, and the stack of papers beside it.

Her story.

The pages were divided into two sections. The first sheets were in a graceful flowing penmanship. Not a word was crossed out or a letter smudged. The second section was neatly typed. She must have finished it sitting where he was now, he thought, working late at night and using the flames for light. It would have been her way.

Terry took the silver ring from his pocket and set it on the bricks next to the fire. He began to read.

In the Garden, on the edge of the vast ocean, and the borders of the tall mountains, lived the people of the Sastra, the first and greatest of human beings. Because they were from the beginning, they were untarnished, beautiful and wise, of fair form and kind desire. Their King was Rankar, mightiest of the Sastra, and their Queen, Chaneen, loveliest of the offspring of the G.o.ds..."

BOOK_FOUR.

The Curse.

TWENTY-FIVE.

Excerpts from Jennifer Wagner's Story.

Janier awoke from a dark dream to find herself being carried under the surface of Asure. Her hands were bound at her back with metal cords. h.e.l.lish faces grinned at her from the shadows. In her first few moments of consciousness, she struggled violently. But they laughed at her and tightened their claws into her skin and she began to bleed. Thinking to conserve her strength, she decided to remain still. She could feel her sword banging against her leg. She did not understand why they let her keep it, unless it was because they feared her so little.

Janier remembered with guilt her crossing into Asure. With her warriors by her side, she had emerged upon an icy black plain. There she 'd immediately had a change of heart. The enemy was much stronger when it was dark, and seeing the conditions, she attempted to retreat to the desert. Unfortunately, the bridge was gone, and it was then she knew she had been tricked. From seemingly nowhere a rain of poisonous darts fell upon her warriors. She tried invoking the fire, but the Messenger had left her arm, and nothing happened. Her entire company of warriors perished in agony. She was the only one the enemy spared. She did not know why. They had bound her limbs and choked the air from her lungs until she fainted.

If only she had listened to Chaneen.

Thinking of her sister, under the dripping teeth and suffocating breath of her a.s.sailants, Janier lost consciousness again.

She awoke with a slap in the face. Dizzy and b.l.o.o.d.y, she rolled on her side and opened her eyes. She was in a vast underground chamber. Pools of lava boiled on her left. They filled the air with a depressing red glow and afoul stench. She tried to stand, but her hands and feet were still bound. She fell forward on hard black stone and banged her head. A throng of watching female Asurians jeered. They sat on rows upon rows of bleachers, that curved upwards and were lost in the dark. They were hideous, with wide snouts, large teeth, scaly hides, and red eyes that shone with excitement.

Amidst the shouts, Janier heard a deep chuckle. It was the Asurian King, Kratine. He sat on a black throne, wearing a gold corset about his midsection and a purple cloak over his shoulders. A heavy crown laden with jewels topped his big head. He clung to his illusion of human form, a fair handsomeness that reminded her of Rankar. Yet his eyes were unmasked, and that made Janier tremble to look upon them. They were empty black holes that led into nothingness. As she struggled to her feet, he stood from his throne and slowly approached her. He continued to chuckle as he reached into her belt and withdrew her bloodstained sword.

He smiled. I see you brought the fire.'

For a moment he held the blade at her throat. Then he broke the sword over his knee and tossed the pieces into the nearby volcanic pit. The lava flared briefly with yellow flame, and then settled back into its sober red glow.

'So we meet again, Janier,' Kratine said. 'You come to my land, after all.' He bowed. I am honored.'

Janier tested her cords. They were strong, tightly fastened. She was not going to break free. She was surprised to feel Chaneen 's ring still on her finger.

'You will get nothing from me, Kratine,' she said. 'Best you kill me now and save your time.'

Kratine stepped back as if surprised. 'Kill you? I have no intention of killing you. I intend for you to return home. Yes, that is what I intend.'

'You lie.'

'Lie, my Princess? Why would I lie to you? Surely you accuse me falsely.'

I will not be tricked,' she said defiantly.

'Are you so eager to die?' Kratine glanced at the boiling mud. I would regret destroying such a beautiful woman. Truly, I would.' He moved closer, and she could feel his breath in her face. 'But I'm sure I won't have to, for you are going to perform me a valuable service. Yes, you, Princess Janier. You are going to be my emissary, to your exalted Queen. I want to offer Chaneen a truce.'

'After you promised the same to Rankar?' Janier said bitterly. 'And then murdered so many of the Sastra? Chaneen will not believe you.'

'But you have to believe me, Janier. You have no choice but to be my emissary.' He paused. 'Come. We are reasonable beings. I have few warriors left. Your own army is gone. The killing has helped neither of us.'

Janier glanced at the watching throng. 'You appear to have sufficient force left to overrun the Garden.'

'That is where you are wrong. You did not wield the fire. Only your sister's invocation could have brought the Messenger. I know Chaneen still waits in your Garden. I have no desire to face her.'

'Where is Rankar? Where is Tier?'

'Your King is dead.'

'That was your purpose from the beginning. To lure him here.'

'Need I refresh your memory? Rankar volunteered to come here. I originally had no intention of bringing him to my land. He surprised me with his request.'

'Why did you kill him?'

Kratine chuckled. 'A silly question.'

'What did you want the couple for?'